English professor James Finley

From the “Hidden Lives of Clark College Employees” files, we bring you this detail about English professor James Finley: He once co-wrote a novel with Ken Kesey as part of the legendary Northwest author’s graduate-level course in creative writing. Blogger Theodore Carter recently interviewed Finley about his experiences as a student in that class and about the novel he and his classmates produced and eventually published in collaboration with Kesey, Caverns.

Finley, who is perhaps better-known around campus for his work with the Columbia Writers Series, provides a thoughtful distillation of what he learned about writing from the experience. He reveals that Kesey–famous for the antiauthoritarian novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and his psychedelic shenanigans with the Merry Pranksters–possessed a strong work ethic and a dedication to craft, qualities Finley clearly has taken to heart himself.

Rick and Jeri Kemmer in Tanzania, where they first learned about the moringa tree.

In 2012, Clark 24/7 profiled BEECH Administrative Assistant Jeri Kemmer for the work she and her husband, Rick, have done to create a nonprofit planting moringa trees in developing countries. The moringa tree can be of great benefit to people living in marginal economies; its leaves and green seedpods are nutritious, its dried seeds have coagulant properties that can help filter contaminants in dirty water, and its ripe seeds produce an oil that can be used as machinery lubricant.

At the time of our article, the Kemmers’ nonprofit, Strong Harvest International, was just getting going. Recently, however, it’s been gaining more publicity; the Columbian ran an article on Strong Harvest earlier this month, and just last night KATU aired a segment on Strong Harvest and the moringa tree. Kemmer, meanwhile, says she and Rick plan to continue growing the nonprofit, eventually expanding into Tanzania and Haiti. (They currently operate in Nicaragua and Mexico.)

Photo courtesy of Jeri Kemmer

Intrepid ITS rafters, right side, back to front, Jessica Perry, Phil Sheehan, McKenzie Rathbone, and left side, back to front, Paul Penager, Will Rathbone, Darin Rathbone.

The Information Technology Services group had an exciting day on August 24, rafting down the Deschutes River outside of Maupin, Oregon, as part of a team-building exercise. Several of the IT Services department employees, their families, and student lab assistants braved the cold and turbulent waters of the Deschutes in eastern Oregon. The half-day trip, which was paid for by the employees themselves, involved Class Four rapids and plenty of time for swimming and relaxing. Over the course of three hours, they floated 13 miles down the river–plenty of time to develop teamwork techniques. (Story submitted by Gracie White.)

Don Appert

Music Department Chair and Orchestra Director Don Appert has had a busy summer. The Clark College Orchestra took third place in the 2013 American Prize category of Orchestral Performance-Community Orchestra. The award was given specifically for the orchestra’s March 14, 2012, concert. “In addition I am also pleased to announce that my work Quartetto Basso was premiered and subsequently recorded by Rocco Parisi’s Bass Clarinet Quartet in June,” Appert adds in an email. “The piece was commissioned by the ensemble for the CD A tempo, a modo: Path tracking Vito Marsico. The proceeds from the CD will go to support FA-R.I.T.M.O., which is the Bone Marrow Transplant Research Foundation treating patients with acute leukemia in Genoa, Italy. It is fitting that I composed this piece of music for them, as my mother died of leukemia in 1972.”